Table 3.
Effect of soil texture (clay–loam—CL; sandy loam—SL) and mulching (biodegradable film—MB; low density polyethylene—LDPE) on pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, firmness, and dry matter percentage of muskmelon fruits.
| Treatments | pH | Titratable Acidity | Total Soluble Solids | Firmness | DM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g citric acid L−1 juice | °Brix | N | % | ||
| Soil | |||||
| Clay–loam | 6.72 ± 0.03 | 2.08 ± 0.05 | 13.3 ± 0.26 a | 23.8 ± 0.72 b | 15.2 ± 0.28 a |
| Sandy loam | 6.70 ± 0.03 | 2.09 ± 0.06 | 12.3 ± 0.20 b | 27.0 ± 0.39 a | 12.8 ± 0.13 b |
| Mulching | |||||
| MB | 6.68 ± 0.03 | 2.12 ± 0.07 | 13.6 ± 0.18 a | 24.9 ± 0.62 | 14.1 ± 0.30 |
| LDPE | 6.74 ± 0.03 | 2.05 ± 0.06 | 12.0 ± 0.22 b | 25.9 ± 0.66 | 14.0 ± 0.32 |
| Significance | |||||
| Soil texture (S) | ns | ns | ** | ** | *** |
| Mulching (M) | ns | ns | *** | ns | ns |
| S × M | ns | ns | ns | ns | ns |
ns: not significant; ** and ***: significant at p ≤ 0.01, and p ≤ 0.001, respectively. Different letters within each column indicate significant differences according to Tukey’s test (p ≤ 0.05). DM = dry matter.